


Sides

by Mimm



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9051673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mimm/pseuds/Mimm
Summary: Lorne and his team hope that Rodney, once a member of this team, can help them figure out what the strange frame in a cave is.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TarlanX (Tarlan)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/gifts).



> I realize this doesn't fit your requests unless you squint really hard, but I hope it at least makes you smile once or twice. :) Real life hasn't been very kind lately and beta'ing took some time, so this was a bit late. My apologies for that.
> 
> There are more notes at the end, but they will spoil a plot point, so read at your own risk.

The mountain looked high and Rodney's neck gave a low crackle when he tried to look up at the peak.

"Don't tell me it's up there," he asked the man who was standing next to him, Evan Lorne.

"No," Lorne said, and Rodney let out a sigh of relief. "Only a third of the way up."

Great.

"Ok, people. Gather up your stuff and let's go," Lorne said, and he started making his way towards what looked like a row of steps and a disturbingly narrow ledge leading to a cave.

Right behind Lorne came Laura Cadman, followed by Radek Zelenka. Alicia Vega motioned Rodney to go next, ahead of her. His shoulders sank as he adjusted the equipment bag. He looked one last time at Vega, who nodded without a word, and started climbing.

*

When they finally reached the mouth of the cave, Rodney sat down beside it and leaned his back against the stony wall and felt like his lungs could collapse at any minute. His thigh muscles burned but he refused to let the others know. He knew he had only been invited on this mission out of necessity. It had been almost four months since Zelenka had replaced him as the team's science officer, by Lorne's request. Rodney needed to prove they had made a mistake; so the last thing he wanted them to see was that his physique wasn't up to par. He really needed to start a new exercise regimen when he got back on Atlantis, he thought to himself.

He looked up along the wall behind his back. The peak of the mountain was now closer but still distressingly high. The view was incredible, though. In front of him opened a beautiful landscape of green from the forest and blue from the sky. The Gate by the forestside looked tiny and misplaced, like some giant had just thrown it there. 

The rocky path underneath Rodney was little more than a ledge at three feet wide and he felt a bit woozy as he peered down at the ground, so very far away now. He wasn't afraid of heights but he wasn't terribly fond of them, either. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His lungs had settled now.

Clumsily, he started making his way up on to his feet to join the others. His legs trembled a little but at least he no longer felt like he would fall.

Looking inside the cave, Rodney noticed it wasn't as deep as he had expected. It was almost closer to a dent than an actual cave. The rest of the team was standing in front of something, and as he approached them he saw a frame with curved edges embedded in one of the walls.

"Is that it?" he asked, even though the answer was obvious. He walked up to it for a closer inspection.

"There's no visible interface," he said.

"We know," Zelenka said.

"Can you figure out what it is and what it does?" Lorne asked, and Rodney gave him a look.

"I'm sure I can," he said. "Just give me a few minutes."

He let his fingers travel along the frame, feeling his way from one curved corner to the other, hoping there was something there. The fact that Zelenka hadn't figured out the frame's mechanism worried Rodney a little but he shrugged it off. He'd tackle it like any other job. Start from scratch, figure it out, and eventually find the answer.

"Vega and I will head further up," Lorne said. "You three stay here and let us know if there's any progress."

Cadman, who was standing by the ledge and looking at the view, gave him a nod. Soon the three of them -- Rodney, Zelenka, and Cadman -- were on their own.

"This is going to take a while," Rodney said, after he had finished examining the frame and found nothing.

Zelenka took out his own equipment and spread them on the ground. Wires, pads, scanners, all of them very similar to Rodney's.

"Have you found any kind of an energy source?" Rodney asked him, hoping the answer would be yes.

Zelenka shook his head.

"So it's somehow self-sustained," Rodney said. "Or someone's stolen the batteries."

"Or it's broken," Zelenka said, and Rodney agreed. It was the most reasonable explanation.

"Do we have anything to carve out the wall around it?" Rodney asked Cadman, and she gave him a puzzled look.

"You want to dig it out of the wall?" she asked. "Are you sure that's even safe?"

"Don't know until we try," Rodney offered, but Cadman didn't look convinced.

"Ok, so maybe we won't dig it out completely. But there has to be something else here. A circuit board, a remote control, something. I doubt the Ancients decided that oh, hey, this is a great place to put up a wall hanging."

"We don't know what it will do if we tamper with it," Zelenka said, but Rodney could see he was just as eager to find out as he was.

"So we'll be careful."

"Hey, I'm not touching that," Cadman said, putting up her hands.

"Fine," Rodney said. "Give me your gun."

"What?"

"Unless you have a pickaxe hidden under that snug jacket of yours, that's the only thing capable of blasting solid rock."

"You said he was supposed to be smart," Cadman said to Zelenka.

Zelenka shrugged.

"I have to agree with him," he said. "We won't get far by just staring at it and I've scanned it with everything I have."

"Fine," Cadman said. "But I'm not giving you a gun. Either one of you."

"I know how to use a gun, thank you very much," Rodney said, then sighed. "Whatever. If it makes you happier, you shoot."

Cadman took out her radio and contacted Lorne. "Sir, Dr McKay has a stupid idea and Zelenka agrees with him. Permission to fire at the wall."

There was a brief moment of silence in the cave before Lorne gave them permission to proceed.

"Just don't blast the whole mountain down," he finished.

"As if I would let you do something that idiotic," Rodney muttered under his breath.

"So," Cadman said. "Where would you like me to aim? Or is it dealer's choice?"

She still didn't look happy. Rodney showed a spot two inches off the frame and she nodded.

"You two, step back."

Rodney was reluctant to leave but when it became clear Cadman wasn't going to shoot until he left the cave, he gave up. 

A loud bang filled the air and Rodney jolted at the sound. The blast made rubble and dust fly around them, and Rodney's ears were ringing. He took a finger to his right ear, checking to see if it was bleeding. It wasn't.

He stepped back inside the cave, followed by Zelenka. Cadman was leaning against a wall, coughing. On the wall to her right, the frame stood like nothing had happened. There wasn't even the slightest scratch on it. But next to it, big chunks of stone were missing now, and when Rodney felt the edges of the frame with his fingertips he could actually tell the object was fairly flat. It wasn't the only thing he noticed.

"Guys," he said. "Did you see that?"

Cadman, still rubbing at her ears and brushing bits of sand off her hair, frowned. She didn't seem very pleased.

"See what?" she asked.

"I think I saw it, too," Zelenka said, and Rodney turned to look at him. He looked surprised and Rodney knew it wasn't just him that had seen it.

"It flickered," Zelenka said, excitement in his voice. "The inside of the frame. That thing is not just a frame. It's something else."

"Exactly," Rodney said, feeling triumphant.

"What do you suppose it is, then?" Cadman asked. She no longer sounded annoyed, but curious.

"I have no idea," Rodney replied, wishing he didn't have to say those words. He hated not knowing things. Especially at a time when people relied on him for answers. "But I will find out. We need to shoot at it again. Give me that gun and go outside."

"Oh, no, you don't," Cadman said, but Rodney was adamant. He held out his hand.

"I need to be close to the frame when the blast hits it. Either you let me shoot or you hold the gun and I pull the trigger. Which one would you prefer?" he asked.

"No wonder you're off the team," Cadman said, shaking her head, but she gave him the gun. The words stung but Rodney held back a retort.

He waited until Cadman and Zelenka were out of sight and tried his best to cover his ears with his jacket collar and his arm. He shot at the wall. Again, his ears rang. Again, there was a flicker. This time it lasted longer. He touched at the frame and he felt a rush of warm air on his face. Then everything went dark.

*

Rodney turned around in his spot, disoriented, and he could tell something was wrong. There was no view of forest anywhere, no Cadman, no Zelenka. Only a solid wall of stone and a narrow corridor.

Before Rodney could figure out what had happened, he felt the ground tremble under his feet, and the next thing he knew the cave around him started to shatter, bits of stone dropping on his head and shoulders. One sharp block scraped the back of his hand and he dropped the gun. Before he could pick it up, he had to cover his face with his sleeve or else risk drowning in dry dust.

His initial thought was that he would get buried under all the rubble and die there from suffocation, and he wished he could have seen his sister for one last time, and also to give his cat one more scratch. But the thuds around him became fewer, only a few stones hitting him now, and he could still breathe. Not very effectively between all the coughs but enough that he didn't pass out.

When the chaos around him stopped, he opened his eyes. It was dark and his eyes stung from the dirt, but it wasn't pitch black. There was either a light source somewhere close by or the corridor wasn't that deep.

Behind him, the frame was gone, buried under dirt and dust.

"Cadman!" he shouted. "Zelenka!"

There was no answer.

He tried contacting the team through his radio. "Lorne, Vega, is anyone there? Please respond. Can anyone hear me?"

No response came. The line was dead.

He had two options. He could start digging the pile with his bare hands, or he could make his way deeper into the cave. He chose the latter.

At first he thought the falling rocks had caused him brain injury, because he could swear he heard a voice, but the further he walked down the narrow corridor, the stronger the voice became, until he saw a dark shadow against the lighter dark behind it. A beam of light appeared out of nowhere and blinded him, making him shield his eyes with his forearm.

The shadow rushed closer to Rodney and took a hold of his arm. He started at the unexpected touch. Squinting his eyes, he tried looking at the shadow, and saw the features of a man with dark hair and a worried frown. From his clothes Rodney could tell he belonged to another away team. Was there another team on this same mission that Lorne had failed to mention?

"Thank God. I thought I lost you. I heard the darts and suddenly you were nowhere in sight."

Rodney tried to rub his eyes but the sand only made them hurt, so he blinked and felt them start to water. "Damn," he said. "This place is a death trap."

"How did you even end up here?" the man asked. "You said you wouldn't investigate anything until Elizabeth gave us the go-ahead. You and Ronon were supposed to wait for back-up."

"What are you talking about?" Rodney asked, frowning.

"Did you get a concussion again?" the man continued. "We need to get you checked."

"I'll be fine once I get out of here," Rodney said, pushing the man's hand away and looking behind him in the corridor. "Please tell me this cave isn't five miles long and underground."

"What? Come on, Rodney, you know it isn't," the man said, and Rodney started at the mention of his name.

"Who are you again?" Rodney asked, trying to put a name to a face. He was fairly sure he had never seen this face before. It was the kind he would remember, as pleasant as it was, but he could think of no one. Maybe he _had_ taken a hard hit to the head.

"Ok, now I know you've got a concussion. Come on," the man said, grabbing Rodney by the waist. He tensed up at the touch but the grip was firm and he couldn't wriggle out of it, so instead of fighting he went along with it, following the man and stepping over the pile of rubble.

After a few feet the floor became clearer and Rodney could see the area around them was bigger, like a hall, and there was a big opening overhead, leading to what had to be daylight. They stopped and the man turned to Rodney, putting his hand on Rodney's face and wiping away the sand with his thumb. Rodney took a step back, frowning.

"What is this?" he asked, feeling like something was wrong - like everything was wrong.

"What do you mean? I'm trying to help you."

"This. All this," he said, gesturing around him with his hands. "Who the hell are you and what the hell is this place?"

Now it was the man who frowned.

"You're serious."

"Of course I'm serious. Who are you?"

"It's me. John. Rodney, come on. Who do you think I am?"

"Some very handsy stranger, that's who. I have never seen you in my life."

The man, John, was silent for a long time, looking like he was trying very hard to think. He didn't appear aggressive or hostile, but the way he kept invading Rodney's personal space was alarming. He was acting as if he knew Rodney very well, which was impossible.

"What's the last thing you remember?" John finally asked.

"I was investigating a frame one of our away teams found, and I shot at it and there was a flickering. Something happened and suddenly the ground started shaking and the ceiling collapsed on me. Then you came."

"Where's Ronon?" John asked.

"Who's Ronon?"

"Crap," John said. "This doesn't sound right."

"You don't say," Rodney said, getting frustrated. He was more and more convinced that he was actually unconscious and lying under a layer of rocks, dreaming of a screwed up world with hot men, and any moment now a scantily-clad nurse would appear to tend to his wounds. He actually wouldn't have minded that.

"I think you'd better come with me," John said, and this time he didn't come anywhere close to Rodney and instead indicated a direction further down the corridor. "We'll get you checked up and then we'll figure out what's going on."

That had to be the first sensible thing Rodney had heard him say. Even when he had no idea where it was they were going and who 'we' were.

*

This is a holding cell, Rodney thought to himself. It may have looked like a regular room, very much like the one he had back on Atlantis, but he wasn't allowed to leave. He had tried. The door was locked, and after a while of him banging and pushing and yelling at it, a guard had opened it and told him to stop trying.

Yes, he was a prisoner.

Now he only needed to figure out how he had gotten back to an Atlantis that both was and wasn't familiar. The journey from the mountain back to Atlantis through another Gate hadn't taken long, and on their way to this room Rodney had only come into close contact with six people: John Sheppard who had escorted him, a young warrior woman John had referred to as Teyla, a slightly different-looking Elizabeth Weir who had looked shocked at the sight of him, two guards, and a nurse who had taken several blood samples from his arm. The rest of the people that had surrounded him hadn't spoken to him, only pointed their weapons at him, and now he was in a room behind locked doors, completely clueless as to what was going on.

The door opened and he stood up.

It was John.

"Hi," John said, greeting him with a small wave of his hand. "How are you doing?"

"Not well," Rodney said, more honest than polite. "I'm back on Atlantis and being treated like public enemy number one."

"Listen, Rodney," John began, and Rodney still found himself startle at hearing his name spoken like that. "May I come over there?"

"Sure," Rodney replied. "Fancy a seat on the bed or will a chair do better? I'm sorry I'm all out of sofas."

"Please don't," John said, and he sounded sad. Suddenly Rodney felt bad for acting the way he did.

"Sorry," he said. "Sit anywhere you like."

John sat on the chair by the desk. Rodney sat on the bed, leaning his head against the wall and giving out a long sigh.

"We got the initial reports from the blood tests," John began. "You are Rodney McKay and you probably are from Atlantis, as you say. The problem is you don't seem to be from our Atlantis. You're not my Rodney McKay."

Rodney had suspected it but it felt strange to hear someone say it out loud.

"It's that cave," he began. "It's a portal."

"The cave?" John asked.

"No, the frame I touched. It has to be some kind of a portal between universes. Dammit, Zelenka, you couldn't figure it out on your own. No, you had to drag me there, and now I'm stuck who knows where."

John frowned. Rodney could tell he was barely following. He was still having a hard time understanding it himself.

"Then you didn't know what it was?" John asked him.

"We had no idea. It looked perfectly harmless. What do you know about it?"

"Nothing. I'd never been to that cave before today. Lorne and his team found it and they said there was a device there. My team went to investigate it. Rodney and Ronon went ahead and I was supposed to join them, but soon as I got through the Gate I heard some darts and ran for cover. Next thing I know I hear your voice echoing in the cave and find you but no Ronon. And you're the wrong Rodney."

"Sorry about that," Rodney said dryly.

"And I'm sorry about all this," John said. "We had to make sure you're not a replicator or a clone or some other ingenious device to infiltrate our defenses."

"So, are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah," John smiled. He looked at Rodney. Just looked at him. Rodney had to look away.

"I'm staring," John said. "I should stop."

"If you wouldn't mind."

John pressed his hands on his thighs and stood up.

"Anyway," he began, "First you need to go get a medical check by Dr Beckett but otherwise you have Elizabeth's permission to walk around freely. But no unescorted off-world trips," he finished. "Just a precaution."

Rodney nodded.

"We're going to figure out a way to get you back, I promise," John said, and he looked earnest. There was a pause.

"I was hoping you'd join me after Beckett's done with you," he continued. "Rodney and Ronon are missing and I need to get them back. We could definitely use your brain power to figure out where they are."

Rodney hesitated a little. It felt nice to be needed but he wasn't sure how he could help with people he didn't even know. Just because he was genetically identical to one of them didn't mean they were the same person, and he had no idea how things in this universe worked.

"Please," John said, noticing his hesitation.

"Ok, why not," Rodney finally said. "Tell me everything you know and we'll figure something out."

"Good."

The door opened and Rodney followed John into the corridor.

*

The Carson here looked exactly the same as the Carson back home, Rodney thought. Same hair, same face, same clothes, same gestures and manners. The fact that there didn't seem to be any difference between the two Carsons made the whole thing eerier than if there had been some variation.

"So, where's Jennifer?" he asked as Carson was scanning his spine.

"Who?"

"Jennifer Keller. She's our other doctor besides you," Rodney explained.

"I know a Keller but she's back on Earth," Carson replied.

"Huh."

Rodney would have preferred Jennifer to do these examinations. He had never felt comfortable with Carson running his fingers all over Rodney's half-naked body. Probably because they were friends, he assumed, though he couldn't tell for certain. Seemed like he was stuck with Carson this time.

"So, what else is different?" Carson asked, his palm pressing gently against the back of Rodney's head, and Rodney tilted his head forward. "Am I seeing anyone?"

"Not at the moment. Unless you're keeping secrets from me," Rodney replied. "You're just as single as I am."

"Well, that's a little depressing," Carson said, but he sounded as cheerful as usual.

"But I think you and Laura have a thing for each other," Rodney offered as consolation.

"Oh, really? Laura as in Laura Cadman?"

"Yeah, the one and only."

"She's very nice, isn't she? Maybe I should ask her out," Carson said, walking to his desk. "Stand up now."

Rodney stood up, his thighs still a little achy, and he felt yet another cool scanner against his left side. He was very aware of the fact that he was wearing only boxers and hoped Carson would be done with his examination soon.

"You should. I'm sure she'll say yes," he said, thinking about Cadman. He wondered where she was now. Had she and the rest of the team figured out where Rodney had ended up and were they even trying to get him back? Or was Rodney going to be stuck here forever, these new acquaintances his only hope for getting back home?

*

The woman John had called Teyla was eyeing Rodney with slight suspicion. It didn't feel uncomfortable but he wished there was something he could do or say to convince her that he wasn't evil or planning an invasion.

"You look so much like him," she finally said, and then her face changed as she smiled, her eyes warming up. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rodney."

She gave him a little bow of her head and he returned the gesture.

A small group of people had gathered up around John, Teyla and Elizabeth, and they began discussing strategy. Rodney had nothing to contribute so he took a backseat, listening to their reports.

Earlier, when John had brought Rodney to Elizabeth, Teyla had joined Lorne's team and they had headed back to the planet where Rodney and Ronon had been taken. They hadn't found any trace of them, not even a dropped button.

"But we found this," Teyla said, putting a block of metal on the desk.

Rodney couldn't tell what it was. Maybe a piece that was now missing from a bigger piece, or just a piece of junk.

"May I?" he asked, and picked it up, turning it in his hands. There was something inside. It looked like a mechanism of some sort.

"I'll give this a look," he said, taking out a few of his tools he carried in his pockets.

"Any chance we can figure out where the darts came from?" Elizabeth asked.

"No," Teyla said. "Zelenka says there is no way to determine the coordinates of incoming wormholes, so we cannot tell who opened the Gate before Rodney and Ronon. It is difficult enough to retrieve outgoing addresses." 

Not only that, but there was no way of telling if the dart had even come through the Gate just before John's team. It could have just as easily come from a hive ship close by.

"Did you manage to retrieve the outgoing coordinates?" Elizabeth asked.

"We did," Teyla said. "The previous address was that of a busy planet, the Gate placed in a crowded market square. There are too many people coming and going to tell where they went next."

"Well, that doesn't help us," Elizabeth said, sounding tired.

"Market square?" John asked. "You'd think they'd notice a dart coming through the Gate."

"I thought it was peculiar as well," Teyla agreed. "Perhaps they were on foot, wearing disguise?"

"Perhaps," John said, but he didn't sound convinced.

"Is it ok if I take this with me?" Rodney asked, pointing at the piece of metal in his hand. "I have better tools in my room."

"Do anything you need to do," Elizabeth said.

"Thanks."

"So, what's the deal?" John asked. "We can't tell where Rodney and Ronon have been taken and we don't even know if they're alive. They could be anywhere in this galaxy by now. If you ask me, that's not a comforting thought."

The rest of them agreed. Rodney knew sending out search parties was impossible in this kind of a situation. There was no sense in choosing coordinates at random and sending out people in every direction in the galaxy. They needed a starting point. They needed more information.

John didn't seem happy at all and Rodney could understand why. There were few things as unpleasant as knowing something had to be done but not having the means to do a single thing.

"Maybe Todd knows something," John suggested.

"I know you two have a bond," Elizabeth said, "but I'm not comfortable with sharing this kind of information with him. Not yet. Not until we are certain he didn't have a hand in this."

John frowned, clearly not liking what he heard.

"I hate that you may be right. All right, who else do we have? Michael's out of the question."

"Perhaps I could visit a few of my friends," Teyla offered. "Ask around. Find out if they have heard about other kidnappings or other wraith activity we might not know about."

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes, looking tired. Rodney knew that look. He had seen it a few times, mostly when things had turned glum and people's lives were at risk.

"Sounds like a good place to start," she said. "Go ahead. Take anyone you want with you."

"That will not be necessary. I will travel alone."

"Very well. Be careful out there. We can't afford to lose you, too."

"I will."

And then she was gone.

"I can't just sit around and do nothing," John said and he sounded agitated. "There must be somewhere I can go. Something I can do."

There was nothing they could think of.

*

Back in his room, Rodney turned the piece of metal in his hand, prying it open with a knife like it was a stubborn clam. John was standing behind him, watching him work.

"You're making me nervous, you know," Rodney said, but he had to admit he kind of liked the attention.

"What is that thing?" John asked, ignoring Rodney's implied request to stop staring.

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

A part of the piece gave out and he saw what was inside. It was a device of some sort. Crudely made, he thought, looking at the gears and springs that made it seem like a distant relative of an old-fashioned clock.

"Can you make it work?" John asked, and Rodney gave him a look.

"In a minute," he said. "Maybe two."

There was no place for a battery or an energy source. Rodney could connect it to his computers and gadgets but it wouldn't do a damn thing to make it work any better. This thing looked to be purely mechanical.

"I'm not sure this thing is related to anything," he said. "It looks like some kid from the 19th century lost their wind-up toy."

"So it's a toy?" John asked.

"I don't know," Rodney said, annoyed that he couldn't give a better answer. This John could be pretty irritating, he thought to himself.

Rodney twisted one of the gears and there was a nasty, low screeching sound. He made a face.

"Did you break it?" John asked, but Rodney didn't bother answering.

He twisted the gear again, a little faster, and the screeching sound was a little higher now. When he gave it another twist, the fastest he could with his sore fingertips, he recognized the sound.

It was obvious John recognized it as well.

"They weren't wraith," Rodney said. "I've seen darts and this has to be the tiniest one I've ever seen."

"We have to tell the others," John said.

*

"What are you saying?" Elizabeth asked.

"There was no dart," Rodney said, and he gave a demonstration, winding up the little gadget until it made the familiar, eerie screeching sound. "They only wanted it to seem that way."

"But who would do that?" she continued.

"I have a pretty good idea," John said. "Who do we know that seems to use old technology? Let's say 19th century for example."

Elizabeth thought for a moment. Rodney noticed the moment she understood. He himself had no idea what was going on, apart from the gadget in his hand.

"Genii," she said.

"Which would explain how they managed to escape through that busy market place without no one noticing. They weren't wraith. They were people."

"I'm sorry but why would the Genii do this to you?" Rodney asked. "They're simple farmers."

"They're not," John said. "It's a cover-up."

"You need to go there," Elizabeth interrupted them. "Now."

Suddenly, Rodney felt a twinge in his body, a painful pull, but he couldn't figure out what it was and where it came from.

"What's wrong?" John asked, noticing he was in pain.

"I don't know," Rodney said between his clenched teeth.

"You need to go see Beckett," John said.

Rodney had to agree.

"John," Elizabeth said.

"I know. Tell Lorne's team to join me," John said, and Elizabeth nodded.

"Good luck."

*

Rodney was hoping for Carson to say it was probably nothing, but instead there was a look of concern. As Rodney sat there on the examination bed, Carson went through his databases, until finally he found something.

"Oh no," he said, and Rodney knew it couldn't be a good thing.

"It's cancer, isn't it?" Rodney asked. "I knew it. I knew the one time I don't think it's cancer, it ends up being cancer."

"What?" Carson asked, confused. "No, it's not cancer. It's worse."

What could be worse than dying a slow death from painful tumours all over his body? Rodney couldn't think of anything besides maybe burning alive or drowning in an underwater casket. Radiation poisoning would also really, really suck.

"I don't claim to know the scientific theory behind it," Carson began, "but one Samantha Carter has been through the same and she can verify it's very real."

Sam? Rodney knew Sam. He knew her very well.

"What is it?"

"Entropic cascade failure."

Oh no. This wasn't good. Not good at all.

"I need to get home," he said, his voice calmer than he expected. He felt like it should tremble and crack. "I need to get home fast."

He thought about it for a moment, then he sat up like he had been hit by a jolt of lightning.

"What is it? Is it happening now? Does it hurt?" Carson asked, rushing to him, but Rodney pushed him off.

"If I'm suffering from this, it means there's two of us in this universe, and that means that the other Rodney is still alive."

Carson looked a little stunned.

"I can't say that's bad news," he agreed. "We need to let the others know."

*

They found John and the others in the Gate Room, armed and ready to leave.

"What is it?" John asked.

"It seems I'm about to die," Rodney said calmly. "Lucky me."

"You what?"

Rodney explained what they had found out. What was happening and what it meant for this world's Rodney and Ronon. John looked just as stunned as Carson had, but there was also something resembling relief on his face as he processed the words.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. These, let's call them attacks, would only occur if your Rodney was alive in this universe."

"I could kiss you right now," John said, and for a while Rodney believed him, until he remembered there were people around them.

"You're welcome," he said.

"But you're right," John continued, more serious now. "You need to get back to your world fast. I can't have you die on me. Do you have any idea how long you have?"

"Not long. We're talking days at max."

This had to be the closest to death Rodney had been so far, not counting the few run-ins with hostile aliens. He wondered how he wasn't more panicky.

"So we need to get back to that cave," John said. "Figure out what the deal with the frame is. We need to do it now."

Rodney couldn't disagree.

"Lorne," John said. "You go ahead without me. I'll join you as soon as I can."

Lorne nodded.

"Do you need anyone else?" Elizabeth asked John, but he shook his head.

"I have the smartest man here with me. If he can't figure it out, then no one can."

*

Rodney felt conflicted as he walked beside John towards the cave that had led him to this new world. He knew he had to go, knew he needed to go back to his life because here he would inevitably die, but he also didn't want to go back to a life that didn't feel satisfying.

But he also knew that John already had a Rodney here. There was no place for another one. Especially a dead one.

"Listen, I have to ask," Rodney began, trying out the next lines in his head. They all sounded clumsy to him, so he just picked one. "I got the impression that you and I are, you know, a couple."

He gave a nervous laugh and suddenly wished he hadn't asked, but he really wanted to know.

"Am I allowed to say anything? Wouldn't that breach some sort of continuation law?" John asked, but he didn't look taken aback by Rodney's question.

"I think that only applies to time travel," Rodney offered, stepping inside the darkness and leaving daylight behind. "I'm just a visitor from a parallel universe. I can still break things but your history should be safe."

John nodded in understanding.

"Then yes, you and I are together. Or, rather, the other you."

"But why?"

John laughed and it echoed in the hall.

"Because? I don't know. Why do people date anyone?"

"But I'm a terrible date!"

"Yes, you are."

Rodney had to smile at that. "Tell me about him."

"Well, he looks a lot like you," John said, stopping and turning towards Rodney. "He wears his hair a little different," he said, reaching to touch Rodney's hair and ruffling it, sweeping it until he seemed content with his handiwork. "Like that."

They continued their way deeper into the cave, beams of light bouncing off walls.

"He's smart and knows it," John continued. "He can fix anything. And he probably has a dozen new neuroses every week. Most of the time he annoys the hell out of me. But then I annoy him back and we're equal."

"And he works on your main off-world team with you?"

"Yeah. You don't?"

"No. I did at first but I guess it didn't work out. Zelenka took my place and apparently he's a better fit since they kept him. I only join them when they need extra help."

"And the rest of the team is Lorne, Cadman and Vega," John said.

Rodney nodded, and John shook his head.

"I'm sorry, it just sounds so crazy. I know most of those people but that combination makes no sense. No Teyla or Ronon and no you."

"Who is this Teyla, anyway? She seems like some Xena warrior lady," Rodney asked, glancing at John.

John chuckled at that. Either it was the warrior bit or they also had Xena in this universe. Either way, Rodney enjoyed seeing him smile like that.

"She's Athosian. She's been with us since the time we stepped through the Gate into Pegasus galaxy. I don't know how we'd get along with people over here if we didn't have her contacts."

"Athosian? We have Athosians back home. They live on the main land."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I thought they were a peaceful people, not warriors."

"Most of them are. You know, when you get back, you should go meet them. Ask around. I'm willing to bet you'll find her there."

Rodney made a mental note to do that. His brief meeting with her hadn't been unpleasant, and they could use more fight-capable people joining the expedition. Having local people as ambassadors also didn't seem like a bad idea.

"And Ronon," John continued. "You can't have Atlantis without Ronon Dex."

"Any chance you might give me his home planet?" Rodney asked, amused.

"Sateda. But he's not there. He's probably a runner, meaning he's jumping from planet to planet, running away from the wraith who hunt him."

John's eyes turned serious. This didn't sound like a fun topic.

"How did you find him, then?"

"It's a long story. But we got the tracking device out of his body and he's been one of us since then. The best soldier and friend you can hope to have fighting at your side."

"Sounds like a great guy."

"He is."

Not 'was.' There was still hope.

For a moment they walked in silence, until they reached the part of the cave that had been damaged the worst. They walked on the rubble, careful not to twist their ankles.

"So, what about you?" John asked, propping himself against the stone wall as he progressed. "Married? Kids?"

"Oh, no, very single," Rodney blurted out, suddenly aware of how sad it made him seem. "I mean, I date but... no, actually, I don't. I tried but it didn't work out with Katie, and I've yet to hop back on the saddle or whatever it is they say. No kids of my own but I have two nieces."

John quirked a brow.

"Your Jeannie has two girls? Ours has a girl and a boy."

"Huh. Interesting."

"Yeah. Nice kids, though."

They saw it then. The end of the corridor. They could see the very top part of the frame, but the bottom half was covered in dirt.

"At least the Genii haven't found it," Rodney said. "Time to dig."

No sooner than Rodney had picked up his first stone, he felt another painful pull. He fell on his knees, trying to suppress a shout, but it was no use. John was there in an instant, grasping a hold of his shoulders, keeping him anchored until the pain went away.

"We need to be quick," John said.

*

It took them nearly two hours but finally they uncovered the device, and in the cleared space Rodney saw something else; something he hadn't seen on the other side. There was another device next to the frame, a round shape with pink and blue on it. He took it in his hand.

"This is the control," he said. "That's why I couldn't make it work. We didn't have one of these."

"So, what now?"

"I turn this thing on," Rodney said and pressed the device. The frame, so much like the one in Rodney's world, started flickering. The flickering stopped and the picture became solid, unwavering, like a window into another room. It didn't seem right because the forest that had been green looked yellow, like it was late autumn, and he hadn't been gone that long.

One reality after another, Rodney searched, until he saw the one that seemed to be the correct one. The forest looked the same, the Gate was where it was supposed to be, and there were bits of stone still visible on the ground from when he had shot at the wall.

"This is it," he said, turning around. "I should go."

"Is it normal that I feel sad?" John asked.

"I hope so. I'm not exactly cheery myself," Rodney admitted. He gave John the remote. "Promise me one thing," he said. "When I'm safe on the other side, shut this thing down and bury everything. Or take it somewhere else. Just don't leave it here where anyone can find it and use it."

A wraith or a replicator or a Genii. Or something even worse.

John nodded.

"Look for me," John said. "Look for Teyla and Ronon."

"I will."

"Here," John said. "I gathered this just before we came here. It's not much but there's some info that might come in handy for you. Some coordinates and intel. It's messy but I know you'll figure it out. There's also the signal pattern of Ronon's tracker implant. You'll have a better chance tracking him down when you know what to look for."

"Thanks," Rodney said.

"You will love him," John said.

"So you keep telling me."

"And you will love Teyla. And that other John will love you. I mean, I should know, right?" John tried to joke, but Rodney could tell it was a little forced. But he appreciated the effort.

"Goodbye, John."

John gave him a kiss. They hadn't known each other for long but it felt right.

"It's not cheating when it's you," John said.

Rodney smiled and brushed John's cheek with his hand, the stubble scratching at his fingertips.

"Go save him," Rodney said. "Both of them. And say hi for me."

Then he turned towards the mirror and touched the screen. In front of him, now on the other side, John stood with his hand up close to the mirror but not touching. Bye, he mouthed to Rodney, and turned the device off. He was gone.

If Rodney had expected a welcoming committee, he was in for a disappointment, because there was no one in the cave. He knew he had a long way to the Gate, but at least the path now went down and not up.

*

Rodney's lunch breaks had turned a little different ever since he had returned from the dead. Carson had always joined him for lunch, if possible, but for some reason Laura joined them now, too. She seemed unusually friendly towards Rodney. There were times when he wondered if maybe he had chosen the wrong universe after all, but Carson had said that Laura had been genuinely upset after his disappearance, so maybe it wasn't a question of universes. Maybe she genuinely disliked Rodney a little less now. That would be nice.

Next to Rodney, Carson was describing his latest trip home to Scotland with great detail, and Laura was listening to him, nodding and laughing, but Rodney only caught parts here and there. His concentration wasn't what it could have been and his lunch didn't really taste like anything today. It hadn't tasted like anything for the past two weeks he had been back in his own universe.

Maybe it was a side effect of travelling between universes, he thought. Maybe he wasn't out of the woods yet. Maybe he was about to head for entropic cascade failure even after having returned to his own universe. No formula or calculation in his head suggested it but lately he had stopped every now and then to question his intelligence. Which in itself was a cause for worry.

He had kept his promise to John and tried searching for Ronon, but he hadn't had much luck so far. With Teyla, things were going a little better, though Rodney had yet to meet her in person. She hadn't been on the main land when he had gone there in search of her, but he had been told she'd be back in a week or two. He would try again.

As for John, it was surprisingly difficult to get a hold of someone cross-galaxy when they didn't have security clearance for anything stargate-related. Rodney should have known better that once he got back on this side of the quantum mirror, his life would go back to its old tracks, meaning things didn't go his way no matter how he wished they would.

No, nothing seemed to go right for him. From a team of four, he had only reached one. Himself.

"Anyone you know aboard?" he heard Carson ask, and it took him a while to realize that the question was addressed to him and not Laura.

"What?"

"On Daedalus. The new people. Any scientist friends coming over here?" Carson asked him.

"I don't have scientist friends," Rodney began, knowing how depressing the words sounded, but they weren't exactly a lie. "But no, now that you ask, I don't think I have any colleagues coming over. Elizabeth consulted me about Watkins but the man's an embarrassment so I doubt he was approved."

"What about you?" Laura asked Carson, and Rodney could feel his concentration slipping again.

Out of nowhere, Elizabeth spoke in his ear, asking him to join her immediately. Wondering what he had broken now, he took his tray of half-eaten food and went to hear about his latest failings.

*

"Rodney McKay sent you his regards," Elizabeth said, and there was a curious expression on her face, a mix of bafflement and amusement.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rodney asked.

"Chuck," Elizabeth nodded, and then Rodney saw and heard a video recording. There he was, with John, only it wasn't actually him. It was the other Rodney. He was alive. And he said Ronon was alive, too.

"We received this half an hour ago," Elizabeth said. "The transmission came from the planet where you disappeared."

"They made it," Rodney said, smiling, and it was the happiest he had felt in a long time. "Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you, Chuck."

"Are we to expect more recordings from them?"

"I don't think so," Rodney said. "I told John to bury the device. This was probably just a special occasion."

"Good. We can't have people from other universes running around here freely."

*

Rodney was heading towards his quarters with Carson and Laura. Carson had insisted on going fishing and there was no way Rodney or Laura could refuse going with him. Rodney took a bite from his energy bar. His lunch had been interrupted a couple hours earlier and he was still hungry.

"You should try chocolate," Laura said. "It tastes better."

Rodney gave her a look and pulled at the wrapping. It fell on the floor. He knelt down to pick it up, grumbling to himself, and turned around the corner. He nearly walked into another person holding a can of soda. Some of its contents splashed on to Rodney's shirt, but Rodney barely noticed it.

"John," he said, staring at the familiar man in front of him, then smiling. "I just got your message. How did you get here? You were supposed to bury the device."

"I'm sorry," John looked at him, brows furrowed. "Do I know you?"

"Of course you do. It's me."

Your Rodney, he nearly said before stopping himself.

No sooner than he had said the words, he noticed that this John had a very noticeable scar on his chin, traveling up towards his ear. A scar that had probably been there for a long time. Years. This was not the John he thought. This was another one. This was his John.

"And you are..?" John asked.

Rodney quickly stuffed the rest of the energy bar into his pocket and offered a hand to John.

"Rodney McKay," he said, and John took his hand to shake it. "The smartest guy around here."

John looked at him, amused, then over Rodney's shoulder. Rodney glanced behind him and saw Laura's face. She was shaking her head.

"Not everyone here appreciates my intelligence," Rodney said.

"John Sheppard," John said.

"I know."

"Which freaks me out a bit," John said, eyes narrowing. "I don't think I'm that famous."

"Oh, you're not," Rodney said, and John frowned at him. "I mean, it's not how I know that you're John Sheppard. I've met you before. Which is to say I haven't met you but I've met a you, and that other you was also... well, you." 

John stared at him. "I'm sure that made sense in your head."

"Not really."

John nodded.

"Anyway, hi, I'm John. I'm new," John said, taking a step towards Laura and Carson and shaking their hands. "This place looks amazing," he finished, taking a sip of his drink.

"It does, doesn't it? Wait until you see all the water. Perfect for fishing," Carson agreed. "Welcome to Atlantis."

"Let me show you the place," Rodney said eagerly. John gave the others a look but they both nodded.

"We'll leave you two alone," Carson said.

John turned to Rodney and gave him an easy smile.

"I'm all yours."

**Author's Note:**

> The concept of quantum mirror is borrowed from Stargate SG-1. The mirror was used by Daniel in There But for the Grace of God (1x02) and by Sam in Point of View (3x06), and the entropic cascade failure is a reference to what happened to her.


End file.
